Community Outreach Assistant

The City of Salinas is accepting applications for Temporary Community Outreach Assistants to perform a variety of field, community engagement, public outreach and administrative support duties related to operation and service programs and/or major planning initiatives of the assigned Department. Temporary employees may not exceed a maximum of 25 hours per week or 1,000 work hours per fiscal year (fiscal year runs from July 1 - June 30). The Community Development Department currently has vacancies for this position in the Planning Division and the Housing Division.

For Planning Division vacancies: The primary focus will be to provide support for the City’s General Plan Update process. In addition to the qualifications detailed below, knowledge of principles of city planning, understanding of the General Plan Update process, knowledge of Community Development Department operations, and familiarity with Vision Salinas and other City-led planning efforts (including the Alisal Vibrancy Plan; Chinatown Revitalization Plan; Parks, Rec & Libraries Master Plan; etc.) are also desired. Job seekers with Bilingual (English/Spanish) and/or graphic design skills (Adobe Suite) are encouraged to apply. 

For Housing Division vacancies: The primary focus will be to perform street outreach and engagement activities in Salinas and Continuum of Care (CoC) area homeless encampments with an emphasis on connection to appropriate services through the development of rapport and working relationships with unsheltered residents. Other duties include documenting and capturing data regarding assistance provided. Bilingual (English/Spanish) strongly desired. 

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: All applicants must provide a copy of diploma or transcripts at the time of application or submit to the Human Resources Department. Applications are incomplete without the required documents.

Supervision Received and Exercised: Receives general supervision from the Department Director designee.  May provide general supervision of assigned volunteers.

 (These functions are representative and may not be presented in all positions in the class. Management reserves the right to add, modify, change or rescind related duties and work assignments.)
 

1. Assists in the implementation of department operation and service programs or planning initiatives/community engagement efforts.
2. Assists with planning and conducting community outreach events, workshops, trainings and other meetings.
3. Assists with the coordination of meeting logistics including securing venues, obtaining supplies and materials, arranging for childcare, refreshments and meeting/event set-up and clean-up.
4. Prepares and distributes meeting notices, flyers, surveys, and outreach materials.
5. Responds to letters, public inquires, e-mails, and other communications. 
6. Maintains contact lists in both written and/or electronic formats.
7. Utilizes social media platforms to engage and inform members of the community.
8. Prepares and/or gives presentations (i.e. PowerPoint) to the general public, community organizations and others. 
9. Facilitates small group and other community engagement activities.
10. Prepares meeting agendas and follow-up notes; records community input.
11. Performs basic research to assist the preparation of reports, surveys, studies or other documents. 
12. Coordinates, interacts and confers with other City Departments.
13. Serves as liaison between other government agencies, non-profit organizations and ad hoc committees for special community service projects, etc.
14. Interprets and conveys applicable City policies, rules and regulations. 
15. May assist other staff in the supervision of volunteers.
16. May translate written materials and public comments into English/Spanish.
17. Promotes and maintains safety in the workplace. 
18. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of effective organization, program development and implementation.
• English usage, grammar, spelling and punctuation. 
• Appropriate writing techniques for writing reports and correspondence
• Record keeping principles and procedures.
• Principles of local government practices.
• Principles of volunteerism and marketing.
• Basic clerical and computer skills, including word processing and basic software applications (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, Outlook 365); filing; familiarity with learning materials and effective training techniques.
• Other desktop publishing software related to preparing leaflets, brochures and similar materials (such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign or MS Publisher) is desired.

• Understand the organization and operation of the City, community stakeholders and other outside organizations necessary to assume assigned responsibilities. 
• Promote the mission, values and standards of an effective public organization, particularly in the area of customer service.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. 
• Prepare outreach materials and assist with meeting logistics.
• Utilize social media and email.
• Read, understand, apply and explain City programs, regulations and planning initiatives/efforts.
• Give public presentations to a wide range of large and small audiences.
• Guide small group activities and discussions.
• Conduct web/online research.
• Work cooperatively with other City departments and outside agencies.
• Work holidays, weekends and evenings when necessary. 
• Work independently. Analyze situations and adopt effective courses of action. 
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with City staff, elected officials, the community and volunteers. 
• Supervise, train and evaluate volunteers.
• Speak, read and translate in both Spanish and English (Bilingual) is desired.

• Modern office practices, methods, and computer equipment.
• Computer application related to the work.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions: Physical, mental and emotional stamina to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position; manual dexterity sufficient to write, use telephone, computers, business machines and related equipment; vision sufficient to read printed materials, visual display terminals; hearing sufficient to conduct in person and telephone conversations; speaking ability in an understandable voice with sufficient volume to be heard in a normal conversational distance on the telephone or in person, and to project with sufficient volume when addressing large groups or facilitating community engagement activities; physical agility to push/pull, squat, twist, turn, bend, stoop and reach overhead; physical mobility sufficient to move about the work environment, physical strength to lift up to 30 lbs.; physical stamina sufficient to sit, stand or walk for prolonged periods of time; mental acuity to collect and interpret data, evaluate, reason, define problems, establish facts, draw valid conclusions, make valid judgments and decisions. 

Business office working environment subject to sitting at a desk or standing at a counter, booth or display station for long periods of time, bending, crouching, or kneeling at files, pushing/pulling of file drawers and supplies, reaching in all directions and prolonged periods of time working at a computer station. Work conditions will include attending out-of-office meetings and events, at times in an outdoor environment, in all weather conditions. May work evenings, weekends and holidays.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills which may be required.

Please apply online at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/salinas.

For questions, contact Venissa Rosa, Sr. Human Resources Technician, at venissar@ci.salinas.ca.us